If you're driving on Interstate 440 and you spot giant red machines, keep your eyes on the road. That's the message the Tennessee Department of Transportation had during a Friday press conference regarding the I-440 reconstruction project.

100 tons of power

Gantry cranes are being used for the project — but not just any gantry cranes.

These large, mobile cranes are 40 feet tall, 60 feet wide and 40 feet long, with a lifting capacity of 100 tons. They are being used because it's difficult for the contractor, Kiewit Infrastructure South Company, to set up cranes underneath the bridge, and it allows traffic to continue moving. Therefore, the cranes can lift and put large objects in place without shutting down the area.

"There's a very large, very new piece of equipment that's coming out of the project that we're not used to seeing," said Clayton Markham, the TDOT project manager. "So we want to make everyone aware that they need to pay attention (to the road)."

Two of the giant gantry cranes being used for the Reconstruction Project are pictured here.(Photo: Andrew Wigdor | Tennessean)

The widening project

The project is the most expensive in TDOT history, with a total cost of $152.9 million. When completed, the roadway will be improved with the removal of "substandard pavement." Additionally, three lanes of travel will be available in both directions for the 7.6-mile stretch from I-40 to I-24 in Davidson County. Three bridges along the highway — at Lealand Lane, Craig Avenue and I-65 — will be widened to add one lane in each direction.

Markham said the project is currently on track, with the projected completion date falling sometime in August 2020.

The area in which the bridge over I-65 on I-440 will be widened is pictured here.(Photo: Andrew Wigdor | The Tennessean)

"The project is to address the failing pavement and the potholes that are occurring very frequently," Markham said. "And we're also adding an additional lane ..."

For the 7.6 miles affected, traffic is currently continuing with two lanes per day in both directions, but the contractor has the option to take it down to one between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., Markham said.

Most of the heavy crane lifts will be conducted at night when fewer vehicles are present, according to Markham. Additionally, when lifts occur over the roadways that run under the I-440 bridge, such as I-65 and Franklin Pike, those roadways will be closed.

He said there will definitely be a weekend closure of I-65 in late summer or early fall.

TDOT's long-awaited I-440 Reconstruction Project extends approximately 7.6 miles, from Interstate 40 to Interstate 24 in Davidson County, and should be complete by August 2020.
TDOT, Nashville Tennessean

Reach Andrew Wigdor at awigdor@tennessean.com and on Twitter @wiggie5885.